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Under Pressure

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Under Pressure by James Alec Hardy

Description

*Under Pressure* depicts a world fracturing, exposing the daily conflict between citizens and police as streamed through internet news and citizen reportage. For over two decades, since 2002, James Alec Hardy has documented civil unrest on the front lines in the UK, recording collective actions and police responses. His most recent work from 2024 and 2025 remains unpublished due to its sensitive nature, as some featured groups have since been proscribed as terrorist organisations by the UK Home Secretary. Building on his previous concept, Bangarang, Hardy continues to interrogate the thin line between action and the force of resistance. He further developed techniques using contemporary technology to anonymise both perpetrators and victims. Hardy appropriated source footage and processed it using AI image prompts, generating key frames to cartoonify individuals. This deliberately produces an ambiguous blend of fact and fiction. The video compilation was then pushed through an analog process, which adds a temporal distance from the original material and allows for the introduction of physical glitches. Through dramatic manual interventions on the video equipment, Hardy creates visceral visual effects—rips, slashes, jumps, and meltdowns—that scar the footage. In an ironic turn, Hardy was banned from an AI platform he had used for years, the ban citing the use of extreme violence and the censorship of the detected political subject matter. These scenes are, unfortunately, not unique in history; the struggle against authoritarian power is an ancient narrative. The critical difference today is the speed and graphic nature of the violence disseminated, which is increasingly normalised and homogenised alongside advertising and entertainment. The television and film industry has conditioned our responses to conflict, and media has long exploited the adrenaline-driven reactions it provokes. This work stands as a wake-up call, challenging us to resist becoming numbed into inaction or radicalised by disingenuous actors seeking control. Video produced by James Alec Hardy in London 2025 \ Format: MPEG-4 Video \ Native size 720 x 576 pixels \ Duration: 1min 3sec \ 4:3 Ratio PAL \ Stereo Audio Work may be permitted to be shown on external screens keeping the ratio preserved. Scale of screens variable. The information and portrayals contained in this work are provided for general artistic and entertainment purposes only. The creator accepts no responsibility for any actions taken, interpretations made, or for any consequences resulting from an individual believing they recognise themselves or others within this fictional narrative.